Randall extends streak

Raiders clinch fifth straight district crown in rout

Posted: Sunday, April 22, 2001

LANCE LAHNERTGlobe-News Sports Writer

The Randall Raiders made it one for the thumb Saturday afternoon.

Randall stepped into dynasty status on the district level, claiming its fifth consecutive district baseball crown by crushing Caprock 19-1 in a five-inning game stopped by the 10-run rule at Raider Field.

Although two District 3-4A games remain, Randall's victory pushed its record to 12-0 and secured the 3-4A title.

Since 1997, the Raiders are 50-6 (.892 winning percentage) in district games under fifth-year coach Steve Ribera.

"I like those baths," said Ribera, who was drenched with a bucket of water by several Raiders while a reporter interviewed him after the game. "I wouldn't mind a few more of those.

"We are proud of those five. It's something that once it gets started, nobody wants to be the team to break it. That's why we take out those gold gloves (district championship trophies) and put them out before the season so they can see what it means for us."

Randall's double-play combination of senior second baseman Brandon Baldwin and senior shortstop Kyle Edwards, echoed the thoughts of their coach.

"District baseball championships are a big thing at Randall," said Baldwin, who singled and homered in the first inning against Caprock. "There aren't many schools that can have five in a row. It's a tradition now. We take it personal. We didn't want to be the class that ended the streak."

Edwards, who launched his second homer in two days in the second inning, said the Raiders don't think just about playoffs but winning district.

"That first game of the year we are talking about district," Edwards said. "We bring out the gold gloves, and then we also have a ripping of the pre-district stats. It brings kids out of a slump since it's a whole new start."

Saturday afternoon, Randall (21-4 overall) started out like a skyscraper on fire and didn't mess around with struggling Caprock (6-17, 2-10). The Raiders sent 11 batters to the plate in the bottom of the first inning, producing five hits, scoring eight runs and building an 8-0 lead that was never threatened.

In the first inning, leadoff hitter Baldwin was 2-for-2, scoring two runs, and his sixth homer of the season was a three-run blast over the left-field wall.

"We have some great hitters, and all I do is go up looking for a base hit as the leadoff man," said Baldwin, his on-base average .630 for the season. "My job is to get on, so I will take home runs whenever I get them."

Randall tagged on four more runs in the second inning, and Edwards was the catalyst for the 12-0 lead with his second hit of the game, a leadoff homer.

Edwards' home run continued Randall's long-ball rampage during district. The Raiders have hit 28 homers in their 12-game district season and now sit two homers shy of tying the school team record of 33.

"When you come out and jump on a team that doesn't really act like they even want to be here, they are going to fall that first inning if you score a couple of runs," Edwards said.

Randall added four more runs in third inning and three runs in the fourth inning.

The Raiders finished with 12 hits and had seven players with multihit games. Craig Howard helped out with four RBI on a pair of triples, while Chance Douglass was 2-for-3 with three RBIs.

While Randall's offense roughed up pitchers Rudy Morgan and Jimmy Contreras, Raider senior starter Kyle Thompson ran his record to 7-0 by going the distance.

Thompson allowed three hits, and just two batted balls left the infield. The righty struck out eight - including five in a row - and impressed his coach.

"We needed Kyle to have a good day pitching, and he did," Ribera said. "Even though he is 6-0, he felt like he has struggled a little bit. He threw as well as has all year. His ball was moving."

As for Caprock, it has had better days. The Longhorns gave Randall seven unearned runs on five errors, and its lone spark came from a Benjie Fuller double in the third inning.

No question, this was Randall's day.

"This team puts in a lot of work," Edwards said. "We are always hitting the cages, or taking ground balls for 30 minutes after practice. We have a lot of pride (in this program)."

Said Baldwin: "We aren't done. We want to finish district undefeated and we know these teams want to end (our unbeaten streak)."